North East RadioWatch: January 15, 1998

Ice Storm Damage Continues

The massive ice storm across Northern New York, Northen New England,
and Canada continues to be our top story at week's end; we'll begin
with an update of storm-related broadcast news across the region:

MAINE - It appears the Pine Tree State suffered the worst damage from
Ice Storm '98, with several stations still off the air from the
storm. Portland's WBLM (102.9) remains silent because of the ice
damage to its antenna. Its Fuller-Jeffrey sister stations, WCYY (94.3
Biddeford) and WCYI (93.9 Lewiston) have become the "Rock Radio
Shelter," adding 'BLM's album rock to their modern rock formats, and
adding WBLM jocks (including morning team The Captain and Mark) to its
usual voice-tracked format. (NERW would love to hear tapes of this
one -- and anyone else running storm-altered formats). The 102.9
signal may return with minimal power soon from a temporary antenna,
perhaps just with a tape loop telling listeners to move down the dial
to 94.3 or 93.9.

A few stations back on the air since Monday's NERW EXTRA: Bath's WJTO
(730) came back to life Monday morning, after being silenced by first
a power failure and then a dead generator. WJTO is using only 400
watts for now, with station manager Tory Gates providing extra local
newscasts and storm information. WLAM-FM (106.7 North Windham) is
back on, but WLAM (870 Gorham) remains silent. In Sanford, WCDQ
(92.1) has rigged a temporary antenna on the lower two-thirds of its
(formerly) 240 foot tower, getting it back on the air with about 80
watts. 'CDQ's Russ Dumont tells NERW a new antenna is on the way,
which will get Mount Rialto Radio up to about 500-750 watts until the
tower can be replaced.

Portland's four commercial broadcasters joined forces for a simulcast
telethon that raised more than $300,000 for storm relief. The
telethon was broadcast from the studios of WGME (Channel 13) and was
also seen on WCSH (Channel 6), WMTW (Channel 8), and WPXT (Channel
51). WGME has been working with WGAN (560) to simulcast morning news
programming, to reach the many Mainers who still have no power for
their TVs. Knowing that some of them are listening to channel 6's
87.75 MHz audio frequency on battery-powered radios, WCSH has been
making sure to read closure information out loud in addition to
putting it on screen.

WMPG (90.9 Gorham) and WMME (92.3 Augusta) are also back on the air.
WMPG was granted a construction permit this week for its new Portland
translator, W281AC (104.1), but we suspect it will take a few months
for construction to get underway. Heard with only a dead carrier:
WMSJ (89.3 Freeport) and WYFP (91.9 Harpswell).

We've finally heard from a NERW reader in Bangor; apparently the most
damage up there was to WBFB (104.7 Belfast), whose tower on Mount
Waldo collapsed. "The Bear" is back on from a backup site belonging
to WKSQ (94.5 Ellsworth). WEZQ (92.9) remains silent after losing
part of its tower. WKSQ has been on the air with public service
broadcasts of storm information in place of its usual hot AC format.
On the TV side, WLBZ (Channel 2) ran its own telethon the same night
as the Portland simulcast.

And way down East in Dennysville, WHRR (102.9) is off the air for now
-- but not because of the storm. The soon-to-be-sold station has
reportedly been testing on and off with simulcasts of WBPW (96.9
Presque Isle), but is now silent awaiting sale.

NEW HAMPSHIRE - Bob Vinikoor's WNTK (1020 Newport/99.7 New London)
has been a source of comprehensive storm information throughout the
ordeal, with three generators maintaining power at the studio and both
transmitter locations. Check out www.wntk.com to hear it online.

VERMONT - We're still awaiting word from our Vermont regulars about
the extent of storm damage; we do know that WFFF (Channel 44) in
Burlington has been granted an extension of time to complete
construction of the station -- which is odd, since WFFF has been on
the air for several months. WFFF and sister station WPTZ (Channel 5)
North Pole-Plattsburgh NY have been relying on generator power since
the storm started, with WFFF remaining mostly off the air to conserve
fuel, signing on only for Sunday's NFL games.

NEW YORK - There's a long roster of stations still off the air at
last word, including public broadcasters WNPE (Channel 16) Watertown
and WNPI (Channel 18) Norwood, WMEX (102.5) Westport, WXPS (96.7)
Vergennes VT, WCPV (101.3) Essex, and WEAV (960) Plattsburgh. WBTZ
(99.9) and WKOL (105.1) Plattsburgh were also off the air over the
weekend, but returned later on. In Watertown, WTNY (790) is back on
the air with more-or-less regular programming; we heard it Thursday
morning with a dual ID with WCIZ (93.5), which must be on very minimal
power for the moment. WTOJ (103.1 Carthage) has drawn considerable
media attention for its all-out effort to provide storm news,
including opening its phone lines to relay messages from
listeners without power, heat, or working phone connections, and a
27-hour on-air stint by WTOJ morning man John Spezzano (brother of
WPXY Rochester's Scott Spezzano). WTOJ and sister station WWLF (106.7
Copenhagen) are noted in one newspaper account as "the only stations
to stay on the air throughout the storm," which we take to mean that
Watertown AMs WATN (1240, WTOJ's sister station) and WUZZ (1410) must
have suffered outages as well. Kudos also to WIRY (1340) in
Plattsburgh, which bolstered its already considerable public service
committment by serving as the clearinghouse for storm news in that
area. Hear it for yourself at www.wiry.com.

ONTARIO - Brockville's CFJR (830) and CHXL (103.7) are back on the
air; we've heard them down here with storm news and information in the
mornings on AM, and an AM-FM simulcast at night. We're told all of
Ottawa's stations are back on the air.

Many thanks to Greg Schatzmann of CJLX (92.3) Belleville for updating
us on the storm in his region. CKWS (Channel 11) and CFMK (96.3) in
Kingston are back on the air at very low power after the collapse of
their 840 foot tower last week. The 35 year old tower had as much as
5 inches of radial ice on some parts of it. Pictures are now
available on line at John McKay's tower page. CKWS is using about 2kw visual and
CFMK is using 3kw from a temporary tower. Also off air for much of
the storm and back at low power is CFLY (98.3), whose tower in
Harrowsmith, Ontario shed a chunk of ice that went right through the
roof of the transmitter building and destroyed the transmitter. CFFX
(960) was without power and off the air all weekend, as was CFRC
(101.9), leaving CKLC (1380) as Kingston's lone news source during the
storm -- and we're told they rose to the occasion, dumping their CHR
format for storm news and information.

Up in Peterborough, the studios of CHEX (Channel 12), CKWF (101.5),
and CKRU (980) had to be evacuated for several hours on Tuesday after
the 700' CHEX/CKWF tower began to sway dangerously from heavy ice.
Workers had been on the tower trying to replace CKWF's feedline, which
was soaked with water New Year's Day, leaving "the Wolf" with just 25
watts of power from a temporary transmitter.

QUEBEC - Montreal's CJAD has been on and off the air on its temporary
1410 frequency all week. Things are getting back to normal at the
CBC, with CBM's 940 signal back on the air, allowing Radio Two
programs to return to CBM-FM (93.5). And a word of praise for
often-overlooked CIQC (600), which kept on providing news and
information to the English-speaking community while we were all paying
attention to CJAD and CBM's troubles. On the TV side, Montreal cable
continues to carry Boston's network affiliates instead of the usual
Plattsburgh/Burlington ones, with the exception of Fox, where there's
no sign of either WFFF Burlington or WUHF Rochester NY on the cable.

On with the rest of the week's news...such as it is:

MASSACHUSETTS: The Fall Arbitrons are out, and the big winner in the
12+ ratings is news-talk WBZ (1030), which jumped a full point with
the start of winter storm season. WXKS (107.9 Medford) took a hit in
the Fall book, falling from second in Summer to fifth, leaving WJMN
(94.5) as the top-rated FM in Boston. In third was a resurgent WRKO
(680), followed by WJMN, WMJX (106.7), and WBCN (104.1),
showing no 12+ ratings growth despite the start of Patriots season.

WBMX (98.5) has changed general managers. Jennifer McCann retains
the GM title at sister station WEGQ (93.7 Lawrence), but she's
replaced at Mix by Mark Hannon, former head of sales and marketing
for both ARS (to be CBS) stations.

WBMT lives! The station's manager wrote to one NERW listener to
report that the high school station in Boxford ran into some problems
with its old transmitter, but has raised the money to buy a new one --
and should keep right on going on 88.3 as soon as it arrives.

Good news this week, as well, for WJLT (1060 Natick), which has been
granted a construction permit for 40 kilowatts daytime from the Unisys
site in Sudbury. WKOX has been hit with a petition for
reconsideration for one of its two 50kw CPs, this one the daytime-only
facility at WNTN (1550)'s Newton site.

On the TV front, congratulations to two of Boston's 10 o'clock
news anchors. WLVI (Channel 56)'s Karen Marinella is a mom
again...she gave birth to Liam Joseph, son number three, on Friday
morning. WFXT (Channel 25) weekend anchor Karen Adams is off to the
Sunshine State, to become lead anchor at new ABC affiliate WJXX
(Channel 25) Orange Park-Jacksonville/WBSG (Channel 21) Brunswick
GA/Jacksonville.

And it's a good week for the crew at CBS O&O WBZ-TV (Channel 4), which
will once again become the home of the Patriots. WBZ was the longtime
home station of the Pats for its many years as an NBC affiliate.
CBS's huge deal to regain NFL rights means the Pats will be back on
'BZ next fall...which should provide a boost to Channel 4's sagging
ratings.

CONNECTICUT: When the sales offices of country WWYZ (92.5) move into
the new corporate digs on Columbus Boulevard next Tuesday, GM Steve
Gilmore won't be going with them. His contract at SFX's
Waterbury-licensed station was bought out effective today.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: What's up with Lowell Paxson's new call letters?
Seems there's some confusion about several of the 39 new "PX"
callsigns the future PaxNet stations are using. Paxson says WGOT
(Channel 60) Merrimack has become WPXB, while WHAI-TV (Channel 43)
Bridgeport CT is now WIPX -- but the FCC's most recent public notice
says otherwise, giving WIPX to New Hampshire and WPXB to Connecticut.
And the FCC's TV database is no use in solving this one; it still has
the old calls for both stations. We'll keep you posted...

NEW YORK: It appears the owner of Lake Placid's radio stations, WIRD
(920) and WLPW (105.5), has died. A filing with the FCC this week
moves the stations from Donald Nardiello's ownership to his estate.

Translator news: The FCC has deleted the license for W265AX (100.9)
Binghamton, which relayed country station WCDW (100.5) Conklin. We'd
heard this translator -- and WCDW needed it to get into many areas of
Binghamton that were shadowed from its main transmitter in the hills
east of town. Syracuse Community Radio is trying again to get a
translator within shouting distance of the Salt City; its latest
application is for 89.5 in Marcellus, relaying its as-yet unbuilt
primary on 88.7 Truxton. Expect protests from second-adjacents WJPZ
(89.1) and WRVO (89.9 Oswego), not to mention a lot of co-channel
interference from WUNY (89.5) Utica, which has a city-grade signal
over much of the Syracuse area.

LPTV news: There will be yet another new addition to the Rochester
LPTV dial, as the WSKG Public Telecommunications Council gets
permission to move its W55AC Cohocton-Avoca some 65 miles north to
Penfield, where it will become W67DQ, pumping out 26.8 kilowatts of
visual ERP from the Baker Hill (WVOR/WBER/WZXV) site in Victor. This
is one of many former WSKG translators getting new lives as commercial
LPTVs, often far from their small-town Southern Tier origins.